Latest order arrives

Hi there!  It's been a little while since I've updated this blog - apart from a review or two - and even when my postie dropped off my latest book order, I still didn't get around to adding a post  ** shameful **  but better late than never so here goes nothing ;-D

As you can see from the pic above, I only received the last four books from 3 separate orders, but they included the two books that I was most anxious to get my hands on, Graceling and Throne of Glass.  I've heard great things about these two books and watched more than a few YouTube reviews, so when I came across them while perusing Book Depository I just couldn't resist.  One of the books, Going Once by Sharon Sala, is for my mum, but Ghost Seer by Robin D. Owens sounded very interesting (and was a much shorter read) that I started it that night.  Sadly to say it didn't quite live up to it's premise {read review here} but thems the breaks.

In the mean time I've read Graceling, and am still gathering my thoughts before posting a review, while Throne of Glass has been put on the top of the TBR pile while I get through some many overlooked library books that are due any day.  Am currently putting together a new list for books to buy - I just can't help myself ;-D - although I may need to buy a 4th big bookshelf to house all the great books I've been wishlisting!

So, that's all from me today.  If you have any recommendations of books you think I should try then let me know in the comments below.

Until next time,

 

July Book Order

Hi! It's been a few days since I've been online.  I've just been so busy lately spending money on books ;-D

In the last week I have spent more money than I should have - nothing new there - but most of my books were based on recommendations from YouTube reviews.  *Gasp!*  I know!  Odd, huh.  But every review I checked out (The Readables, gingerreadslainey, polandbananasBOOKS, Ariel Bisset, and abookutopia) made these books sound sooooo good that I just couldn't help myself from adding them to my shopping cart!

So what did I get?  Well thank you for asking.  I have 8 books winging their way to me from Book Depository (so much cheaper than buying in Australia!) 

• Ghost Seer - Robin D. Owens
• Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas
• Cast in Flames - Michelle Sagara

 

 

• The Line - J.D. Horn
• Graceling - Kristin Cashore
• The Masterful Mr. Montague - Stephanie Laurens {a guilty pleasure}
• Concealed in Death - J.D. Robb
• Going Once - Sharon Sala {for my mum's b'day}

 

and the last complete season of Doctor Who - again, way cheaper from the UK (included p&h) than in Australia! 

I can't wait for the postie to start knocking on my door when each new book arrives.  Sadly, I already have my eyes on about another 10 books as they are scheduled to be released in the next few weeks.  I'll need a bigger house soon...

Return to Rebel Ridge

Don't Cry For Me

Rebel Ridge #2

Sharon Sala

 

Released: September 18, 2012

 

Mass Market Paperback, Harlequin MIRA, 400 p.

ISBN: 9780778313427

 

 

Mariah Conrad has come home. Badly wounded on active duty in Afghanistan and finally released stateside, she has no family to call on and nowhere to go—until Quinn Walker arrives at her bedside. Quinn…her brother-in-arms, ex-lover and now maybe her future.

 

Quinn brings Mariah to his log cabin in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky to rest and recuperate both physically and emotionally. While she's incredibly grateful, Mariah is also confused and frustrated. She's always stood on her own two feet, but now even that can literally be torture. She's having flashbacks and blackouts, hearing helicopter noises in the night. She wants to push Quinn away—and hold him closer than ever.

 

But will she get the chance? Those helicopters are more than just post-traumatic stress; they're real—and dangerous. Bad things are happening on the mountain. Suddenly there's a battle to be fought on the home front, and no guarantee of survival.



Having read the first book in the series, Next of Kin, I was looking forward to getting my hands on Don't Cry for Me... and I wasn't disappointed.  Quinn Walker was a character that caught my interest in NoK, and even before Ms. Sala announced a second book, I was hoping that Quinn would get his own story.

 

As a former soldier, Quinn lives a quiet life on Rebel Ridge.  Content to roam the countryside as a forest ranger, he deals with the fall out of his time spent in Afghanistan.  Though still plagued with nightmares, Quinn does not hesitate to offer a place to stay to Mariah, one time lover, who herself is now state side and recovering from wounds she received during battle.

 

Suffering from lingering injuries as well as PTSD, it takes Mariah a while to settle in with Quinn, they man she loved, who she saved, and who left her without a word.  An independent woman, Mariah has trouble dealing with Quinn and his loud and affectionate family in the beginning.  An orphan, she has no idea how to relate to others in a family situation.  However, with the support of Quinn, and his mother, Dolly, and a scrawny red boned hound pup, Mariah slowly comes out of her shell.

 

But when trouble comes to Rebel Ridge - as it always does - it's Quinn who is in the firing line.  With no one to turn to Mariah has to overcome her injuries - and defy the odds - if she wants to bring her man back home again...

 

I loved Quinn and Mariah's relationship.  The building of a life together on a bond forged during war, the friendship and respect that the have for each other is refreshing to see in a contemporary romance.  This book, series, is a homage to family, friendship, loyalty and love.  A great read, and I would highly recommend to anyone who loves not only Sharon Sala, but the joys of a good book.

 

 

Remember the tissues when you read Tallchief

Tallchief
Dinah McCall

Mass Market paperback 1997
HarperTorch US cover

Back cover

A Dream... or a Nightmare?

Ever since the night Morgan Tallchief lost the only woman he would ever love, he

has struggled to seal away the past.  But now Kathleen Ryder is back in his life - 

still pursued by the deadly secrets that forced her to flee before.  And even though

Morgan swears to protect her, he is helpless against his own rekindled passion.

Kathleen has never forgotten the achingly sweet hunger that bound them together

years ago.  Now, still on the run, all she dares ask is that Morgan keep her safe - 

never expecting that he has the power to breathe life-giving fire to an ember that has

grown cold.

Cover I have

Written by Sharon Sala under her pseudonym Dinah McCall, this is the heart-wrenching story of Morgan Tallchief, and how a ghost from his past comes back into his life.

At eighteen, Morgan was on top of the world.  With only two weeks until he graduated, an athletic scholarship in the works, and his beautiful and shy girlfriend, Kathleen Ryder by his side.  All that ends in an instant the night her house explodes... with her in it.  Grief stricken and numbed by his loss, Morgan turns his back on school and running, joining the navy - leaving his heart behind in the grave of his love.

Now, 16 years later Morgan is out of the navy and working as a successful artist when out of the blue he finds his lost love Kathleen standing on his doorstep.  Not only is Kathleen alive {shock...horror!}, but she has also brought a piece of their past with her... their daughter Trisha.  

Hidden by the FBI in Witness Protection (with her parents) since she was 14, Kathleen is now a single parent with a killer on her trail.  Her father's testimony was only part of the reason their family hid.  Unbeknownst to her, he held a little something back from the FBI - and now the bad guys want it.  With no other options, she packs up her daughter, and seeks out the one man who can help her.  But the reunion of the long lost lovers doesn't quite go as Kathleen expected, and while both of them get some good verbal hits before they call a truce for the moment Morgan is wary of her return.  Just what will it take to convince Morgan that she didn’t want to leave him all those years ago?

This book is a real tearjerker at times.  I enjoy most of Sharon Sala’s books, but this is truly one of her best.  Morgan is a man who never got over the death of his love, and Kathleen is a strong woman who has never forgotten her high school sweetheart.  The author brings them together in a wonderful way, making readers root for the success of their reunion. The addition of Trisha, their daughter, and the closure that this brings to Morgan is lovely.  I wished for a longer book, but the world is well developed, and their back-story well fleshed out.  You care about these characters, but the only criticism that I do have is that the ‘bad guy’ responsible for her flight back to Morgan doesn’t seem right.  He is the son of the man her father testified against, and his desperation to get back a piece of evidence is strange (although if someone the account details to millions stashed overseas I suppose you’d want it too J).  His demise is wonderfully appropriate, and as a reader, you just can’t wait for it.

This is a standalone book with no others being written about the Tallchief family, but that doesn’t matter because I didn’t really want to know about any of the others.  

Crappy week or what?

Hi there,

It's only Wednesday and already I'm ready for the weekend. You see I have this neighbour, he's a senior, but a crusty old guy who keeps to himself. The only problem is that he has his paytv, or stereo, up so loud that the bass just thunders right through your head. Now annoying as that is, it wouldn't be so bad if it was during the day. But no! I have to have a neighbour that can have that going till 3 or 4am!!! Now I'm on the other side of the house - if it's loud for me, then my poor mother doesn't sleep at all.

Some kind soul called the police on him the other night (god bless them), but by the time they arrived - 2.30am - he'd already turned it off. So what did they do you ask (heh, heh...) they saw that his lights were on and they jumped over the padlocked front gate and banged on the door. Since that night, he's had it on louder than ever BUT it hasn't gone on passed midnight yet. Fingers crossed for us.

I've managed to read a few extra books so far this week (thanks to the insomniac neighbour) and I mostly enjoyed 'Deep in the Heart' by Sharon Sala. Not a paranormal I know, but a sentimental read. Every now and then I have to take a walk on the normal side. It just makes going back the weird and wonderful that much better. I've also gone back to some of my series, and rediscovered the joys of The Black Dagger Brotherhood. Dark Lover, is still my favourite. If you enjoy books by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christime Feehan, or feel like an LKH lite, then JR Ward's vampire series is for you!

I hope to get 'A Lick of Frost' this month. I asked Bookworld about it, and while I could get the hardcover at Rosemary's Romance in Brisbane ($43.95) Bookworld was going to charge me $62!! I couldn't believe it! Stuff that for a joke. I'm now just going to wait for the paperback and in the meantime, reserve it at the library.... $62 grrrrrr

On a much more somber note, we got a phone call from my aunt late last night. It wasn't with good news either. She told us that my old holiday friend, a girl that I used to play with each holidays that I spent at my aunts house, passed away recently. I couldn't believe it - I still can't believe it. She was a lovely person, fun, bubbly and had a real dry sense of humor.

See you next time.

PS - Can anyone let me know if the latest LKH "A Lick of Frost" is good? I've enjoyed the rest of the series, but I don't want it to go off course like the Anita Blake books.